Related Stories

The St. Albert Skyhawks take pride in being competitive in one of the province’s toughest conferences.

Despite their relatively small school population, Skyhawks posted an impressive 6-2 regular-season record in the Metro Carr Conference, then earned a berth into Saturday’s final against the powerhouse Bev Facey Falcons (7 p.m.) at Foote Field.

“We are the second-smallest school playing in probably the toughest conference in Alberta and we ended up in second place this year,” said Skyhawks head coach Sam Johnson.

“We’re a very talented team, but we’re not a big team, so we have to rely on our skill and our heart.

“We consider ourselves a family and we do everything with hard work and heart and the boys stepped up this year.”

In the Falcons, the Skyhawks are going up against one of the dominant football programs in the city, having claimed four of the last five conference titles and going undefeated this season.

“They do a great job recruiting, they have a great coaching staff and they have great athletes,” said Johnson. “They’ve been basically having their way in the Metro Conference for many years.”

The Falcons have outscored opponents 406-49 this season on their way to the final. Last weekend they beat a traditionally strong Austin O’Brien Crusaders team 24-0 in the semifinal.

The Falcons also beat the Skyhawks 58-7 in their opening game of the year.

“Things went really well for us in that game,” said Falcons head coach Curtis Martin.

“But they were missing their starting quarterback that week and a few other key players.

“From what we’ve seen on film, those guys are back, they’re healthy and they’re playing at a very high level. So I anticipate this round to be worthy of a championship-type atmosphere.”